Nursing bottle support



Aug. 11, 1936. L, L. K 2,050,622

NURS ING BOTTLE SUPPORT Filed Sept. 19', 1935 INVENTOR LILLIAN L. MENK AT TORNE Y5 Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES LillianL. Menk, ShakerHeights, Ohio ;-ApplicationSeptember 3' Claims.

- This invention relates to ainursingrbottle sup- .port.

One ;of"the:.objects of my. invention-is to.arrange a nursing jbottleupon 'a' support in such :a manner that theibottle will be presentedin asuitable position toaa baby lying upon a pillow or other; head rest. iMyimproved supportiis of sufficientstability tohold 'a.nursing:bottle inposition alongsidethechilds head and .to maintain it there so that ifthe child'sturnsiits head away and again turns back seeking the nippleof the bottle it is still maintained in much the same position as itwould be by a person holdng it.

My invention also provides a nursing bottle support which is alsoadapted to protect the bottle against breakage if it should fall whilecarried by the supporting member.

Another feature of my invention is the arrangement of the support tohold the bottle either in a substantially horizontal position or in asubstantially vertical position.

Other advantages of my invention will appear from the accompanyingspecification and drawings and the essential features will be set forthin the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of my improved bottlesupport showing a bottle in place therein; Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection along the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionalong the line 3-3 of Fig 2; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through amodified form of bottle support; while Fig. 5 is a transverse sectionalong the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a transverse section ofanother modification.

In the form of the device shown in Figs. 1 to 3, I have provided a blockI preferably of sponge rubber having a base H substantially flat andadapted to rest for instance upon a pillow alongside a babys head. Theupper face of the block opposite the base II is provided with a suitabledeformation to receive and hold a nursing bottle l2 of well known type.In the form shown this deformation is substantially a groove extendingpart way across the upper face of the block and ending at a Wall orshoulder l3 which extends upwardly along. the base of the bottle in itsre-' clining position. Preferably the floor or bottom surface I4 of thegroove is inclined relative to the base ll so as to hold the bottle l2inclined downwardly toward its nipple I so that liquid will be properlypresented to the nipple. In this form of the device portions [6 of thesponge rubber block extend upwardly alongside the 19.1935, Serial No.4l,265

bottle and-theseportions in turn have lippor- 'tions H which overlie thebottlein its reclining position. With this form of device the bottle iseasily placed in position in the deformation either by pushing thesamedownwardly between 5 the lips l'l orby inserting it lengthwise-inthegroove portion-of the block. It will be noted thatthe end surface l8 ofthe rubber-'blo'ckis formedsubstantially at right angles tothe base andif-it is desired to set the bottle down in 10 an upright positionthesurface 5 l8 willsupport the bottle in an upright positionwithout-danger of the same being knocked over. If the bottle should fallit is protected by the sponge rubber block at all points except at thenipple end and this end is partly protected by the nipple and is in anycase not so likely to be injured, as the bottle when in the supportwould generally fall with the face I8 downward. While I have shown afull size eight ounce bottle in full lines in the illustration it willbe understood that bottles of less capacity and of similar cross sectionmay be utilized in the same device, the position of a much smallerbottle being indicated by dot-dash lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

A modified form of device is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 as comprising asponge rubber block I9 having a base as before and a groove extendingentirely across the upper face of the block, the fioor of the groove at2| being inclined relative to the base 20 in a manner analogous to thatalready described. Side portions 22 of the sponge rubber extend upwardlyalongside the bottle in its reclining position and preferably extendslightly above the upper surface of the bottle so as to aid in grippingthe same and to protect the bottle if it should fall. Preferably also aportion 23 of this block extends beyond the base of the longest bottleused therein so as to protect the base of the bottle against striking anobject if the bottle should be dropped while supported on the block. Asan aid in retaining the bottle in this form of device I may use aflexible band 24 which may if desired also be resilient, for instancethe usual rubber band may be used.

In either form of the device the bottle after insertion in the holder orsponge rubber block may rest upon the base II or 20 on a pillowalongside the babys head and will very firmly hold the bottle with thenipple in the proper position until the baby has finished with the same.

I find an additional advantage in making the bottle support of spongerubber as the rubber base may be cut up and used for sponge purposeswhen the support is no longer desired for the nursing bottle.

Sponge rubber forms a heat insulating layer about the bottle which aidsin maintaining a more or less constant temperature of heated milk orother liquid fed to a child. Any of the forms shown will have thisinsulating effect but in Fig. 6 I have shown a View of a modified formwith increased heat insulating effect. This modification is similar inall respects to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 except that the sponge rubbercompletely surrounds the bottle, there being a continuous upper wall at25 instead of the cut-away construction of Figs. 1 to 3.

A bottle support of sponge rubber is easily cleansed and sterilized whenthis becomes necessary because of milk or other food deposited on it.The entire article may be thrown in boiling water without injuring it.

I do not desire to limit my invention to sponge rubber but may use othermaterials having similar properties.

What I claim is:

l. A nursing bottle support comprising an elongated block of spongerubber having a fiat base on one of its longer faces, there being agroove extending longitudinally part way across the face of said blockopposite said base and adapted to receive a nursing bottle, the portionof said block at the end of said groove being coextensive with thethickness of said bottle to protect the bottom thereof, the portions ofsaid block forming the side walls of said groove having lip portionsadapted to overlie a bottle in said groove, and the base of said groovebeing inclined relative to the base of said block.

2. A nursing bottle support comprising an elongated unitary block ofsponge rubber having a base surface on one of its longer faces adaptedto maintain the support in position upon a head rest for a child, andsaid block having a pocket therein adapted to completely surround anursing bottle except for its nipple end, said pocket being arranged tohold said bottle slightly inclined toward its nipple end when said basesurface engages said head rest.

3. A nursing bottle support comprising a unitary block of sponge rubberone face of which is adapted to serve as a base, there being a recesscentrally of said block inclined downwardly toward one end thereof, saidrecess being open at said one end, there being a portion of the blockclosing said recess at the other end, said recess being of a length anddepth to encompass substantially entirely except for the nipple end thelargest bottle intended for use therein, and there being a slottedopening of less width than said recess from the top of said block tosaid recess extending longitudinally of said recess and adapted forintroduction of a bottle into said recess.

LILLIAN L. MENK.

